Good Hair

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Still one of the funniest men to wield a microphone on stage, Chris Rock moves away from mediocre starring vehicles to write, produce and feature in this strangely fascinating documentary on the hair of African American women. It's an admittedly odd subject for a documentary, but Rock, appearing prominently on screen, is unpretentious, genuinely inquisitive and funny in his approach; asking the right questions of his subjects in an affable manner. This is easily better than any feature film he's appeared in since breaking out from stand-up comedy.

It's an extremely well kept secret within the black community in America of just how black women get their hair super straight. Rock's starting point is a question his 6 year old daughter asked him; "Daddy, why don't I have good hair?" Rock takes the subject to a fascinating and honest place, by interviewing famous black women and quizzing them, off the cuff, on their grooming techniques. He wants to know why so many of the women of his race have an obsession with making their canisters "more European looking." During the course of the film, Rock returns to a multimillion dollar hair exhibition, where the top stylists in the country compete for a cash prize and the chance to receive even more dough in endorsement deals.

Starting off somewhat like Michael Moore, with clips forced into certain conversations and scenes to emphasize a point, Good Hair soon finds its feet and is a thankfully much more cerebral affair than the usual Moore sledgehammering of point. During the talking head scenes, there is also a camera on Rock; when he gets a surprisingly honest answer, it cuts back to his reaction. He's dictating the tone with his easygoing nature, and it in turn just makes the film easier to watch. This could have been a torturous exercise in people with lots of letters after their names warning of the danger of putting chemicals in your head, instead in Rock's hands, it's entertaining.

Of course the comedian's stature is evident in some of the salons and barber shops he visits; but he's never patronising to those he's questioning, and always thoughtful. If nothing else, Good Hair proves that Chris Rock is a smart, funny and intelligent man - but most folk already knew that. It's just a pity we can't see that in feature film form.